Parental authority: a textbook case

Parental authority: a textbook case

"I'm a teacher and I'd like to invite the father of a pupil to an information session. However, he doesn't have parental authority. Does the law allow me to do this?"

Eve, Geneva

According to art. 275a of the Civil Code, the father or mother who does not have parental authority will be informed of particular events occurring in the child's life and will be heard before decisions important to the child's development are taken. Like the person with parental authority, the father or mother may obtain information about the child's condition and development from third parties involved in the child's care, in particular from the child's teachers or doctor, provided that he or she does not use this right to interfere unduly in the child's upbringing, that he or she does not regard it as a right of supervision and that the child's personality is protected.

The legal text refers to a right to "collect" information from third parties: there is therefore no obligation on these third parties to provide the information spontaneously if it is not requested.

However, at the simple request of the non-custodial parent, he or she will be notified of information events, such as parent information evenings, and may be invited to take part.

According to the literature on the subject, however, a distinction must be made between a general information day about the school, in which there is no right to participate (because this would allow the non-holding parent to give his or her opinion on matters that do not concern him or her), and a session where parents can gather specific information about their child, for which there is a right to participate.

If a dispute arises on this subject, the father or mother may request that it be settled by the guardianship authority, once the divorce has been granted, or by the divorce judge as part of the proceedings relating to the allocation of parental authority or custody.

In your case, if the information session does not deal with matters that are supposed to concern the child's father, it would be wiser to ask the mother, who has parental authority, for authorisation, leaving it to the other parent to refer any disagreements to the judge.